As I do for every place I’ve lived since I started this blog, I write a “realities” article where I talk about the downsides or less than lovely things about where I live (read about Rome here). This is about living in the greater Washington,DC, Maryland, and Virginia are (the DMV).
The traffic. The commute takes over an hour.
The prices. Everything seems to be expensive.
The politics. However one feels about politics, the reality is that this is a town based on it. So it is hard to ignore.
Seven dollars with tip.
Tipping: So much tipping and on EVERYTHING. 25 percent at some places.
The size. This is a spread out city. There are pockets that are cute, but in general it’s big.
The heat: In the summer, it is brutally hot and humid here. It is a swamp, after all.
The lack of authentic Mexican food: This is not really a problem for me, but for most gringos whom I meet around the world, this is a problem.
When I told people I was moving to Adana, Turkiye, everyone told me that it’s hot in Adana. It was a 109 F (43 C) the other day. That is “sicak” in Turkish. Because the “c” in Turkish is a “je” sound like in “John” saying “it’s hot” sounds like “Say Jacques” (no es sound like in Jacques Pepin). So now I’ve learned that Turkish phrase.
My Turkish colleagues tell me that Adana is so hot that sometimes the locals will shoot at the sun… and in 2023 (when it was even hotter), some shopkeepers celebrated the inventor of the air conditioner. See the YouTube video here. Luckily, there is lots of air conditioning. But it makes exploring the city something that has to be done really early in the morning, or later in the year.
Chasing watermelons.
It is melon season so it is easy to keep up one’s electrolytes. Here they like to eat watermelon with white cheese, “beyaz peynir” (like feta but they don’t call it that here).
I had planned not to go outside for four months during the hot season, but with my linen scarf and sun hat, I actually do venture out. From air conditioning to air conditioning. After all, I lived in Dhaka, Rome, and Washington, DC, three other cities that get very hot. The difference is that Dhaka is hot for about ten months and it is humid.
Adana’s hot months are June-September. I arrived in the middle of the hellishly hot weather. It can only get cooler, right?
Discussing barbecue or bbq can lead to arguments. There are strong opinions of what is true barbecue. Experts will tell you tales of smoke, heat, wood, water, fire, dry or wet, brine or no brine, cut, butt, baby back ribs, spare ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, beef ribs, East coast, Carolina, Florida… the terminology goes on and on. Plus now in the DC area, there is Korean and Salvadoran barbecue and all the fusions in between.
Barbecue is quintessentially American. The word comes from the native word barbacoa from the island of Hispaniola (today’s Haiti and Dominican Republic). The idea is that long slow applications of heat will improve tough cuts of meat. Everyone used to use all the parts of the animal and turn them into sausages etc. but here are the most famous types (for a good read, try this article) explained simply:
Carolina style is pork usually slow smoked for 12-20 hours, served pulled apart, tossed in a vinegar dressing, and served in a bun.
Memphis style is pork ribs (and shoulder) in a dry rub. The shoulder is pulled and served in a bun.
Top platter has chicken, Texan brisket, Memphis style pork, Carolina style pulled pork, sausage, and turkey.
Texas is all about beef. Brisket is the most famous type but there are also tri-tips. The best barbecue in the DC area is 2fifty.
Brisket can be as juicy as this but it is hard to find. This was at Rose’s Luxury years ago.
Kansas City was once the meat packing center of the US. The barbecue here is ribs with sauce.
Kansas style ribs on the upper left smothered in sauce, pulled pork, sauce, coleslaw, brisket, sausage, and wings. Fries in this style are a new fusion-y thing.
Apart from the meat, the sides are a big part of barbecue. I once had the best garlic coleslaw at a barbecue joint in Texas. I tried to buy the sauce but they said that it was only for eating in the restaurant. Darn.
Every year there are barbecue competitions and secrets about sauce, rub mix, and every other element are guarded in bank vaults.
If you are here on Memorial Day weekend, enjoy the smell of outdoor parties.
I still think I’m allergic to the jungle. Here’s why. I went to the Amazon jungle in Peru and I was sick. The minute I was in the airport on my way out of the jungle, I got better. Heat allergy is called “heat urticaria” and I might have it. Actually, heat urticaria, is an allergy to heat above 109 F. This includes when the body reaches 109 degrees from steam rooms, hot showers, and spicy food! (And yes, there’s a condition where people are allergic to cold).
Chiles for sale in Bhutan.
Or it might have been that jungle vegetable salad I ate…
